They finally met. Let's hear what they have to say to each other...
Chapter five: Tête à tête
Rosings, Kent, wednesday, august the fifth 1801
He was beginning his walk when he saw her open her eyes.
She immediately shut them again.
"I saw you, no use to stay fainted..."
He felt that she shivered. A slit opened in her right eye and he knew that she was studying him. The tip of here tongue could be seen through her closed lips and he had to crunch very ungentlemanly feelings which shot through his mind.
She finally opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Could you please let me down," whispered she.
She had a voice in total adequacy with her looks. Warm, delicate and full of that inner strength one finds with those people who live in peace with themselves.
"I would and could never have such an awful behavior."
She looked at him, surprise in her eyes.
He decided to explain.
"I never let down a Lady, it's my pleasure to be at her service."
The shadow of a smile crossed her lips.
"I meant, being again able to walk all by myself, I could be put back on my feet."
He looked at her with gleaming eyes.
"I could but I won't."
"That's not very gentleman like, Sir."
He smiled at her.
"I know but I fear I'm not in the mood to be obedient. "
"I insist..."
"I'm sorry, Miss, but even if I had the wish to do such a foolish thing as letting you escape the safety of my arms, I fear letting you down is the one thing I will ever refuse to do. "
She got the double meaning and he had the pleasure to see her flush.
He decided he didn't want her to find other arguments.
"You are weightless and I'm quite sure I could walk with you in my arms till the end of the world without ever feeling even a trace of weariness."
Her blush deepened. He loved it...
"If for nothing else, Sir, please do take my reputation into account..."
"Your reputation fears nothing. We are in the open, you're not alone with me and you just fought against five miscreants. I cannot, as a true gentleman, take a risk with your safety. Let me remind you that you fainted. It could happen again and, this time, you could hurt yourself. "
He saw her set her jaw as she had done during the fight.
"It remains improper, Sir..."
"I'll kill each and everyone who dare say anything of the sort."
"That you are quite adept at killing people, you have shown us quite liberally."
He nodded his agreement.
"So I have. But I kill only people who have the bad taste to assault beautiful guardian angels as yourself. And then not even all of them!"
She made a face at him but her eyes were smiling.
"You give me too much credit and, by the way, your speech borders blasphemy."
He made a noncommittal pout.
"No importance, me and God have an agreement. He lets me do what I want and I no longer covet his job..."
This time, he made her laugh.
"That was blasphemy, Sir. Do you fear nothing?"
"Nor man, nor God, nor Devil. The only thing I fear, right now, is loosing your good opinion..."
She looked at him with a face that would have been stern if her eyes had not sparkled.
"And who are you, Sir, to speak to me in such a shameless manner. You realize that you are holding me and we have not even been introduced."
"True, let me repair this omission."
He bowed low and doing this, he surprised her.
She could do nothing but put her arm behind his neck and hold him with all her strength.
He tried very hard not to show how much her new hold pleased him.
"Geoffroy Aymé d'Arcy, at your service, Miss! Whom have I the honor to carry?"
She answered but he saw in her eyes that she was hesitating between surprise, annoyance and hope.
Why hope?
"Bennet, Jane Bennet," said she. "Are you a Darcy of Pemberley?"
"Not quite. I'm a d'Arcy of Arques, Normandie, France. One of the old stock, not one of the new English strain. These ones, the Darcys of Pemberley are perfectly adapted to the awful English climate. Healthier, stronger, immune to all these lousy diseases we foreigners catch under the veil of English fog."
He got her smile to persist.
"Seems to me quite an achievement, isn't it, Sir?"
He looked to the sky.
"But at what price, my dear Miss Bennet. Dull, arrogant and haughty Darcys of Pemberley when we, d'Arcys of Arques are flamboyant, witty and bursting with spirit and charm. I am the essence of the d'Arcy lineage, the one you'll never regret to have met."
He blinked at her.
"Lucky you!
That brought out a real crystal clear laugh.
"You're quite a braggart, monsieur, that I must admit."
"Not so," said he. "Everything I said is true. You did met my cousin Fitzwilliam, perhaps?"
"I did, quite a handsome gentleman."
He looked at her with a pleading look.
"Not handsomer than I, I hope?"
She gave him the credit of being as handsome as Fitzwilliam Darcy.
"But I'm the sunnier of the two, I'm sure. Did you ever see him smile?"
Annoyance clouded her eyes.
There was something else than Darcys in her mind. He could feel an old hurt under the surface of her mind.
"He is quite a serious gentleman, I must admit."
"He is a bore! That's what he is. Never a smile, never a compliment to the beautiful ladies surrounding him. He looks down on everybody as if he were the center of the creation. "
He flashed her his most charming smile.
"No comparison with this very d'Arcy."
The bad mood disappeared in favor of a more light one.
"So the d'Arcys of France are the essence of Darciism?"
"Of course," replied he. "Since I'm the only one surviving, there's nobody left to dispute me this very lofty title."
"I'm sorry...
"No need to be. It's all quite a few years in the past. And I never was in good terms with the rest of the family. I really do not miss them."
"The revolutionaries? "
He agreed with a nod of his head.
"They got the entire family, save my mother and sister who could flee to England. Mama died of sorrow a few years ago and my sister married a Scottish merchant. She doesn't know I'm visiting. I'll probably see her in Edinbourgh when I and my followers arrive there."
"So you are a French Immigrant in England."
He made a grimace.
"Not really, Miss Bennet. Not really. Quite the contrary."
She looked at him with inquiring and -thanks God- trustful eyes.
"Pray, swear you are not one of these revolutionaries who beheaded millions of French aristocrats."
"I swear that I had nothing to do with these executions. When it happened I was thousands of miles in the East. I came back from China only four years ago."
"And what was a d'Arcy of Arques, Normandie, France doing in China?"
"Studying," said he.
She looked at him with astonishment in her eyes. He was quite satisfied to notice that her right hand was still behind his neck and that she had ceased to ask him to put her down. Could it be that she liked her position as much as he?
"Studying? In China? What's to study in China? Why not come to Cambridge or Oxford?"
He let a laugh escape.
"There is a great deal to study in China, Miss Bennet. A great deal indeed. Do you know that the Chinese Empire which holds power nowadays in China began more than two thousand years ago?"
He was glad he could boast about China with her. It was a safe subject. Much safer than his being here in England this fifth august 1801. How would she react when he would have to acknowledge the reason of his presence here in this Park in Kent?
"Do you know that the Chinese invented most of the tools we stupid westerners believe our doing? That they are, and not the German Gutenberg, the inventors of the printing machine? That..."
He went on and on and on and he could see her smile brighten all the while he was speaking.
He knew he was babbling but he would not stop. Not with such a smile as his reward.
At one time, he had to breathe. She took advantage of the lull in the flow.
"You seem quite enamored with the Chinese, monsieur d'Arcy. How is it that you came back?"
That too was a safe subject.
"The old Governor of the Province I lived in, died and I lost the few allies I got there. I choose to quit before the new administration took the decision to clean up the old Governor's employees. I was ready, he was ill for more than a year. I was out of China within a week. And I had the pleasure to make the journey on the old silk trail. It took several months but what I saw, I will never forget. Our Earth is a fantastic Place to live."
She lost her focus on him and let herself dream for a few seconds.
"I would like to see the world too but I fear it is not the fate of women to travel the world."
"At my side, you could," said he in a whisper. "After England I plan to visit America. I'll land in Louisiana's Capital and I'd like to journey North, the whole way to Canada. I long to see this part of the world."
"At your side, monsieur d'Arcy?"
She was, as he did, whispering. He nodded.
"Do you realize what you just proposed?"
He forced himself to be absolutely serious. This was important. Everything must be perfect.
"Too fast a move, Miss Bennet? Would you have preferred more time to think?"
She was bewildered.
"Sorry to seem dumbfounded, but never ever would I have dreamed to be proposed by a man I encountered half an hour ago."
"Half an hour is a long time in my realm of business. "
She looked at him, fascinated.
"And what is a d'Arcy of Arques, Normandie, France doing for business here in Kent?"
He gave his smile license to reappear.
"The duty of a nephew, calling on his aunt, the duty of a knight, saving his Damsel in Distress... "
He stopped smiling. He would not lie to her. If he were to conquer her, it would be with frankness and honesty.
"...The duty of a patriot, leading a French invasion force against England."
He felt her flinch under his touch. Their eyes met and he saw a trace of fear in them.
He tried a small sorry excuse of a smile.
"Don't be afraid, remember please the damsel rescuing part of my job... "
He saw that his "mot d'esprit" did not escape her. But it was probably too soon for another smile.
"I'm not afraid for me," said she and he knew she believed it. He knew that she felt safe in his arms ad he knew he wanted her to stay just there.
"I'm afraid for my country. Your roughneck soldiers are rampaging in my home land. I'm sorry but it does not reassure me."
He looked into her eyes and made a prayer that she would believe him.
"There will be no such things as rampaging, pillaging and raping. I gave orders and I'm a very demanding commander. There are no roughneck soldiers in my armies."
"One never can be sure."
"I do what is in my power to be sure. I have excellent officers, steady sergeants and experienced corporals. And my men have no doubt about what is going to happen to them if they forget their oath to me."
"That means, once more, that you're also in the job of killing people, monsieur d'Arcy. Please do forgive me if I find this part of your "business" difficult to applaud."
"There's nothing I could not forgive you, Miss Bennet. But you must consider that there are such people as myself who command armies and lead invasion forces. I hate reminding it but it was the British Crown who declared war on France and not the contrary. I'm not trying to lessen my responsibilities but I'm not the only one who brought war and destruction to a foreign country."
"And still you're her"
He nodded.
"I'm here and I proposed..."
He stayed silent a few seconds.
"I saw half the world, Miss Bennet. I have witnessed a dozen different civilizations and if there is one thing I fathomed during my journeys it's that there's no real difference between France and her neighbors. No differences at all between their people. Our governments are at war but that won't smother the feelings I discovered half an hour ago."
"Feelings, monsieur d'Arcy? "
He looked her in the eyes.
"Feelings, Miss Bennet! Do you need me to be more specific?"
She shook her head.
"No need," whispered she. "Would you take it as an insult if I ask for a delay? If, for you, half an hour seems sufficient to be sure about your feelings, I fear I will need a little more time."
Once more he nodded and looked up. The stairs were coming in view and the gravel on the alley was announcing to the world that people were approaching the Manor House.
"We are arriving, monsieur, I can assure you that I'm quite fine and that I'm able to walk alone."
"Pray forgive me if I have my doubts. You seem pale. If possible I'd like to set you on a bed, or if none available, a couch."
She looked at him with sparkling eyes.
"I'm not sure you and a bed in the same room would be a safe combination for me."
He looked stricken and made his best innocent face.
"I'm a gentleman, Miss Bennet. I certainly would not take an advantage of your being with me in a bedroom."
"Like you are not taking advantage of my seizure to continue carrying me against my will?"
He loved the sparkles in her eyes. He loved her wit and he loved the feeling of her nearness.
The door of the manor was opened and a "familiar"voice covered the words he tried to utter.
"What's this?"
He took a long breath and turned to face the Dragon of Rosings.
He bowed as good as he could.
"Mylady."
Lady de Bourgh looked first at him than at his burden.
"Who's this young person?"
And had he not had both arms full of Miss Bennet he would probably have slapped the old Worm for the way she mouthed that last word.
His ward tried to answer, he covered her attempt.
"A young Lady I saved from English miscreants trying to harass her and her companions within the borders of your domain."
Lady Catherine looked down at them and made a spiteful noise.
"I do believe she's safe now. "
She looked at Jane.
"You can stop your histrionics, it seems you got all the attention you wanted."
"There are no histrionics, here, Miss Bennet was..."
Lady Catherine covered his attempt.
"Bennet? As in Elizabeth Bennet?"
Charlotte, who was just entering the hall, thought it necessary to answer Lady Catherine's question.
"It is Jane, Elizabeth's elder sister."
Jane was trying to get herself freed but d'Arcy would not yield. He knew that, with free hands, he would kill the horrible old snake with his bare hands.
"I see... I already have had the displeasure to see your sister's exploits, but I must confess she's still a lot to learn from her elder sister. It seems that with age your skills at luring men are becoming better. "
She snorted.
"I knew it. In some families bad blood runs thick."
D'Arcy and Miss Bennet, both chocked by such a lack of manner protested in the same terms.
"Mylady, you can't..."
She, with another dismissive snort, turned around and swaggered across the hall to her parlor, each of her paces accompanied by a hit on the floor with her walking-stick.
He saw tears in Jane's eyes and she felt him harden.
"Please do nothing," pleaded she.
"A word from you and I strangle her..."
"To do it, you should have to let me down and you promised to never do such a thing..."
He looked at her.
"I could do it without letting you down. I could broke her neck with only one kick. And I would do it with great pleasure."
She looked at him and he saw distress in her eyes.
"I have no doubt on that matter. But would you do it to avenge my honor or just because you love killing people?"
The question struck him like a blow. Indeed for what reason would he kill her?
She looked him in the eyes and he could not give her an answer.
"I'm fine now, please put me on the ground."
He could refuse no longer.
The time of chatting was behind them. He had asked and she had demanded a delay.
He would have to wait.
He put her down but waited till he was sure she was steady on her feet to let her free.
Immediately Mary was at his side to hand him coat and headgear.
He put them on and all the time he was dressing Jane Bennet looked at him.
"What's your title, Sir?"
"Geoffroy Aymé d'Arcy, Premier Proconsul de la République Française."
She nodded and curtsied.
He bowed, closed to her and kissed her hand.
"Please think about my proposal," whispered he. "I'm longing to listen your answer."
"I'll think about it... You have my word."
"I'll see you as soon as possible."
He turned toward Charlotte and the two younger girls.
"I organize a dinner party this evening in the East Wing of Rosings. It would be my pleasure if the four of you would be my guests. I'll send men to escort you to Hunsford and back, this evening, half past seven, to the Manor House. Be assured that your security will be today's utmost task."
His aide was at his side immediately after leaving the hall.
"I want our best men to protect these women."
"They are already informed. Special security for the Lady in blue?"
D'Arcy looked at his aide and a smile appeared on his face.
"Already in the rumor mill?"
"What do you think? The first time in three years you spend more than ten seconds in the company of a young Lady... Who would doubt she's the one..."
D'Arcy's smile brightened.
"It could be, Benevento. It could be. The point in my favor: she didn't say no!"